president obama continues to insist any deal must include a tax break increase on the top 2% of wage earners, which republicans, we well know, just as firmly insist, that is a nonstarter in these cliff negotiations. another element to this fight now, which is important, is the debt ceiling. it's likely the country will come up against that marker again early next year, laying the groundwork for another potentially bitter, bruising, and damaging battle between congress and the white house. we know how well that went last summer when we filed a debt ceiling fight. the proposal offered by treasury secretary timothy geithner last week to republicans would change the rules as it relates to the debt ceiling, giving more power to the president and making it harder for congress to block a debt ceiling increase in the future. the president clearly wants to take the threat of this continued fight on the debt ceiling off the table. listen to the president yesterday. >> if congress, in any way, suggests they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes, and take us to the brink of default